St. Philippians and Friends, Even though we "broke the Internet" last Sunday when we, along with members of other churches across the country, went online in droves to worship, we are going to give the same streaming platform another shot this Sunday, the Fifth Sunday in Lent! Here is a link to the stream, which will begin a few minutes before 10:30 a.m. with the prelude....
Click the link below to read the St. Philip's eSPIRE, the email version of our weekly inSPIRE newsletter, which is packed with information about all that's going on in the life of our parish....
Dear Saint Philippians, Many of you have written and emailed to thank us for last Sunday’s online service; we are delighted that it was a blessing. As we move forward, still uncertain as to how long we will be prevented from worshipping together in the church, I want to provide you with some sense of what you may expect in the weeks to come. Because the situation is fluid, these plans are subject to change, but for now they represent the thinking of the clergy and lay leadership. ...
St. Philip’s is assembling a response team for our church members while we are all experiencing the challenges of COVID-19. This is a united effort of the Compassion Committee, the Home Missions Team, the Disaster Relief Committee, and our clergy. We are here to help each other!...
Dear St. Philip’s family, This past week of social distancing has been a surreal and difficult experience for the majority of Americans. Many are beginning to think that if the coronavirus doesn’t get them, “Cabin Fever” will. Not since World War II or the polio epidemic of the 1940s and 50s have the American people been so inconvenienced or threatened with long-term confinement and financial ruin. It reminds me of the following story shared by the Very Reverend Laurie Thompson, Dean of Trinity Seminary. ...
We celebrated Mission Sunday last week and had the opportunity to highlight the many ways that we as a congregation at St. Philip's are “doing mission,” or reaching out to others with the love of God in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mission is an integral part of what God calls us to do as Christ-followers. While the Great Commission is commonly thought to be the Bible’s one mandate to mission, if we read scripture carefully, we will hear God’s heart for the world woven powerfully throughout all of the Bible. Jesus’ command that we take the Gospel to those who have not yet heard it was not simply an afterthought at the end of his earthly ministry. It was a continuation of the message we find consistently throughout Scripture: God loves us. Despite our rebellion, He went to unfathomable lengths to make it possible for us to know Him and His great love for us and for us to be with Him for all eternity. ...
We dotted all our I's and crossed all our T's; we had every hair in place and all our ducks in a row, but we weren't prepared ... for breaking the Internet! Thanks to everyone who joined us for worship on Sunday! Even though the service didn't come to your living room in quite the mode we were expecting, you were unfazed, and most of us were able to worship together just as we'd planned. Praise God!! Here's a note we received from our streaming platform on Sunday afternoon: Church Online Platform When the Church broke the Internet. This is an unprecedented time for the global Church and for online ministry. For most churches running the Church Online Platform, services went smoothly, and we praise Jesus for the lives that were forever changed! For some churches, though, services went out around 9:15 a.m. CDT/10:15 EDT. In anticipation of the highest-traffic weekend in history, the team had done in-depth load testing and purchased additional server and database capacity to meet the projected demand. But, with today’s traffic, an unanticipated variable arose that caused some issues with chat and with pages loading....
St. Philippians, we are pleased to announce that we are all set for online worship on Sunday, March 22, at 10:30 a.m.! Here are a few things to note: 1. The service will remain available online after the stream is over. This means that should you miss the service for any reason, you will still be able to watch later. 2. A service bulletin is available for you to view or print now. We have reformatted our traditional bulletin so that you may print it at home. There is a complete version which looks just like what you're used to, and there's an abbreviated version that you may print using a single sheet of paper (front and back). ...
Last Thursday, March 12, the jet landed in Charleston carrying our returning members of the St. Philip’s––St. Michael’s mission team to LAMB in Honduras. What a fantastic week! Mission accomplished: ninety dental patients treated––mostly children and some adult support staff––at the LAMB Children’s Home in San Buenaventura, and two buildings on site painted to completion. From an earthly perspective, the trip was a resounding success. It is, however, the spiritual blessings that each team member received that will remain with us forever. ...
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of this talk on a Wednesday evening at St. Philip’s, except that it would be relatively short and sweet. Really, the word “doubters” in the title caught my attention. I have many people in my life who question the Christian faith and some who claim to be atheists, so I attended hoping to pick up a few tools in defense of the faith that I love. I was not disappointed. Listening to Dr. Dickson of Sydney deliver his carefully concise message, his humor woven throughout with his Strayan accent and lingo, I was delightfully entertained. He discussed what exactly the basis of our Christian faith is and proceeded to clarify and dissect the Apostle’s Creed. Now, although I’ve been reciting the Creed since my youth, he explained some things I had never realized about the three fundamental beliefs in the Apostle’s Creed that unify all Christians....
Dear St. Philip’s Family, Yesterday afternoon, Bishop Lawrence ordered the closure of all churches in the Diocese for the next two weeks in an effort to comply with the government’s call for social distancing to combat the spread of the Coronavirus. In compliance with that directive, ALL activities at St. Philip’s Church are cancelled, effective immediately, through March 31. Like many of you, I am very disappointed that it has come to this–– especially during the Lenten Season––but I understand that extraordinary measures are required, and I fully support the decisions of those in authority. ...
Hello, Tricounty Family Ministries supporters. Due to the new information about the spreading virus, we have made the decision to suspend our normal services through the end of the month. All regular volunteer duties are suspended through March 31. We would like to be able to pass out emergency grocery supplies on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and we can set up a safe distribution area outside. Unfortunately, most of our regular staff and volunteers are over the age of 50 and at increased risk for complications due to the virus. In order to continue our grocery distribution, I am looking for volunteers who are under the age of 50 and in good health. ...
Dear St. Philip’s Family, We all share a justifiable anxiety about the threat posed by the spread of the novel coronavirus, and as your Rector, I want to assure you that we are monitoring the situation closely and saying our prayers daily. We are also taking some precautionary measures to ensure the safety and health of our parishioners in worship. We believe that God is the sovereign Lord of the universe and that none of this has taken Him by surprise, but we also recognize our need to be responsible citizens and to care for the most vulnerable members of our community. To that end, we will be implementing the following changes to our worship and parish schedule effective this Sunday....
“There is no way I could relate to or be effective with clients here.” That was my initial reaction when I finally agreed to go in to volunteer at the Lowcountry Pregnancy Center. After years of supporting them in other ways and then being encouraged to actually volunteer by a friend who had served on the board, I decided to answer that call with the idea that I could offer to do clerical volunteer services (a much needed offering). After an interview, when the director said she felt I was best suited to be trained as a volunteer counselor with the clients coming in for pregnancy testing and counseling, the above was my reaction. ...
Last Thursday, March 5, our St. David Choir, which is composed of mixed voices 7th-grade and above, sang the Welsh national anthem and other Welsh pieces at a banquet for the St. David Society at the Carolina Yacht Club for the 21st consecutive year, the 13th with director Jolene Hethcox. Along with the rest of St. Philip’s children’s choirs, this dedicated group will also be singing during the 10:30 service this Sunday, March 15. ...
The annual St. Philip’s Tea Room is an opportunity for the entire parish to come together as one to help raise money for our important ministries. Volunteer forms were mailed last week, and online sign-up is also available! Whether you crave customer interaction or you prefer working behind the scenes, there are plenty of jobs that will be right up your alley. If you’re not available to help the week of, please consider making okra soup, helping to distribute fliers, donating to the gift shop, or trying out one or more of our other preparation roles. You will find the sign-up link, okra soup recipe, ideas for the gift shop, and more at stphilipschurchsc.org/volunteers-tea-room. ...
Several hundred men from St. Philip’s, churches across the state, and as far away as Kenya attended the Christian Men’s Conference at Camp St. Christopher February 21-23. I was blessed to be among them. The theme of this year’s conference was “The Father’s Blessing,” and the goal was for the weekend to be “a time of blessing for all men, young and old, in order that all men may thus be transformed and more fully equipped to build God’s kingdom, man to man.” Anglican Chaplain to the Corps of Cadets at The Citadel Rob Sturdy, looking like an apostle with his full beard and long, bushy hair, brought a passionate and well researched message over four sessions. Rob talked about the cultural view of masculinity being precarious: hard to earn and easy to lose versus the biblical view of masculinity being a gift from God. He talked about God being present, proud, and pleased with his son, Jesus, when he was baptized by John and how this blessing is extended to each of us just because we belong to him....
Last Thursday night at the Country Club of Charleston, over 150 people gathered together in fellowship to celebrate 25 years of mission and ministry service on the island of La Gonâve in Haiti. Our “Friends of Haiti” sponsors and guests, who so graciously supported the event, viewed photos, heard stories and testimonials, sang songs, and celebrated the many blessings of St. Jean Baptiste’s sister-church relationship over the years with St. Philip’s Church, Haitian American Partnership Program, Inc. (HAPPI), Haitian Island Ministries (HIM), and La Gonâve Haiti Partners. ...
I went to Porter-Gaud Bible Study on Wednesday not just for pizza and an Australian accent, but also for the wise words of John Dickson. I am the type of person who tends to follow my head not my heart. Therefore, I found the intellectual logic and information that Dr. Dickson offered particularly satisfying....
Grandparents, are you ready to be encouraged and equipped to influence your grandchildren spiritually? To make them disciples of Jesus Christ and to get to know other grandparents who are doing the same thing for their own grandchildren? Join us on Thursdays following the Rector’s Bible Study as we pray and gather in small groups, using the Legacy Coalition’s guide, “Grandparenting Matters.”...
How long has it been since you intentionally put away your electronics and simply sat in a chair, listening to the stillness of a quiet room? How long since you muted your phone and your music and drove...
From watermission.org: Inspired by the burden that millions of women and children bear every day walking an average of 3.5 miles to collect water that’s not safe, Water Mission’s “Walk for Water” raises awareness of the global water crisis and funds that save lives. On March 21, thousands will rally together in Charleston to give hope to those who lack access to safe water. It’s more than a Walk. It’s an event that will impact people around the world forever by providing solutions that save lives. Join Water Mission as we Walk so others won’t have to. ...
Each Saturday, the Dufatanye Organization (DO) in Rwanda holds a Children’s Bible and Breakfast Club at our ministry center. Using flannel boards and over 600 colorful flannel pieces, we teach a Bible lesson and then serve the children a breakfast of porridge or milk and bread. Sometimes, we have up to 250 children in attendance! We divide the children according to age, and one group plays games outside while the other group participates inside. Then, we switch the groups. It’s always a sweet time...
One day in late November, a staff member discovered a crab and a giraffe left behind in the Parlor. They were siblings––we could tell by the way they bickered with each other. We tried to find their home through Instagram, but no one came forward. Some weeks later, we tried again. Still no luck. Although they were doing well with us, clearly trying to be on their best behavior while finding ways to be helpful around the office, we knew they missed their family (and they themselves were surely missed!), so we tried one last time. ...
I had an amazing time at the March for Life even though I was a little nervous going into because I didn’t know everyone going with St. Philip’s (or the other 800,000 people who were there). Just as I arrived at the airport, I received a text saying that our flight was delayed but that we should still head on over, which was an interesting start to my experience. At the airport, we prayed as a group, took lots of pictures, said our goodbyes to parents and loved ones, and headed to our gate. We made it through security even though there was an extra L in Lily’s name on her boarding pass. At the gate, we played Spicy Uno (which is Uno with interactive rules like “no talking when someone puts down a 7” or “slap the pile when someone puts down a 6”) and Catchphrase. ...
Evangelism. Up until one week ago, I was scared of that word. It carries so much meaning, so much responsibility. On Sunday, January 20, Canon J.John came and spoke at the Rector’s Forum and preached that morning. While I was unable to hear his talk at the Rector’s Forum (I’m definitely listening to it this week!), I heard his sermon. It was so spirit-filling and encouraging that I knew I had to attend his talk the following Tuesday. ...
When my son was in a terrible car accident in 2011, his life was in the balance, and with one phone call, the St. Philip’s prayer chain was alerted and I was able to get many people praying fast. I believe that through these prayers and many more throughout his recovery, he was saved and is now healed. St. Philip’s has had a prayer chain for about the last twenty years, and many of us have taken great comfort in knowing that our situation is getting prayed over “right now.” But now we have a new and improved prayer chain....
If you know of a parishioner who is sick, hospitalized, homebound, or otherwise in need of pastoral care or prayer, please call the church office at (843) 722-7734. ...
St. Philippians and Friends, Even though we "broke the Internet" last Sunday when we, along with members of other churches across the country, went online in droves to worship, we are going to give the same streaming platform another shot this Sunday, the Fifth Sunday in Lent! Here is a link to the stream, which will begin a few minutes before 10:30 a.m. with the prelud...
Keep Reading St. Philip’s is assembling a response team for our church members while we are all experiencing the challenges of COVID-19. This is a united effort of the Compassion Committee, the Home Missions Team, the Disaster Relief Committee, and our clergy. We are here to help each other!...
Keep Reading We dotted all our I's and crossed all our T's; we had every hair in place and all our ducks in a row, but we weren't prepared ... for breaking the Internet! Thanks to everyone who joined us for worship on Sunday! Even though the service didn't come to your living room in quite the mode we were expecting, you were unfazed, and most of us were able to worship together jus...
Keep Reading St. Philippians, we are pleased to announce that we are all set for online worship on Sunday, March 22, at 10:30 a.m.! Here are a few things to note: 1. The service will remain available online after the stream is over. This means that should you miss the service for any reason, you will still be able to watch later. 2. A service bulletin is available for you to view or ...
Keep Reading Last Thursday, March 5, our St. David Choir, which is composed of mixed voices 7th-grade and above, sang the Welsh national anthem and other Welsh pieces at a banquet for the St. David Society at the Carolina Yacht Club for the 21st consecutive year, the 13th with director Jolene Hethcox. Along with the rest of St. Philip’s children’s choirs, this dedicated group will ...
Keep Reading The annual St. Philip’s Tea Room is an opportunity for the entire parish to come together as one to help raise money for our important ministries. Volunteer forms were mailed last week, and online sign-up is also available! Whether you crave customer interaction or you prefer working behind the scenes, there are plenty of jobs that will be right up your alley. If you’r...
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Tricounty Family Ministries has new needs and opportunities for you to serve! 1. Healthy Breakfast Food ItemsWe receive donations of many pastries and baked goods that we share at our continental breakfast each morning. But many of our clients are diabetic or have other health issues that prevent them from enjoying these treats. We are in need of healthier breakfast ite...
Keep Reading Grandparents, are you ready to be encouraged and equipped to influence your grandchildren spiritually? To make them disciples of Jesus Christ and to get to know other grandparents who are doing the same thing for their own grandchildren? Join us on Thursdays following the Rector’s Bible Study as we pray and gather in small groups, using the Legacy Coalition’s guide, ...
Keep Reading From watermission.org: Inspired by the burden that millions of women and children bear every day walking an average of 3.5 miles to collect water that’s not safe, Water Mission’s “Walk for Water” raises awareness of the global water crisis and funds that save lives. On March 21, thousands will rally together in Charleston to give hope to those who lack access to sa...
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The first of Australian author and speaker John Dickson’s two Sundays at St. Philip’s could not have been scheduled any better, as it coincided with a day when the children’s choirs of St. Philip’s were singing. “Kids sing” Sundays always put a few more folks in the pews, and sometimes those folks are people who have not heard very much about the Christian fait...
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The Home Missions Team (formerly the Home Missions Committee) is a group of parishioners commissioned by the leadership of the parish to discern, communicate, and organize the parish’s local mission and outreach efforts. The Team leads by example and provides the congregation of St. Philip’s with opportunities to serve and minister to the people of Charleston by partne...
Keep Reading One day in late November, a staff member discovered a crab and a giraffe left behind in the Parlor. They were siblings––we could tell by the way they bickered with each other. We tried to find their home through Instagram, but no one came forward. Some weeks later, we tried again. Still no luck. Although they were doing well with us, clearly trying to be on their best ...
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For many St. Philippians––as well as neighbors and visitors who worship with us annually––Christmas Eve is the most special day of the year because of the traditions we look forward to as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Christmas Pageant, the first of our three Christmas Eve services, is a time for the youngest members of our congreg...
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Last month, St. John’s Chapel, a mission church of our diocese, hosted “Unity in the Community,” an afternoon of BBQ, music, and fellowship that aimed to foster peace while raising funds for security in a neighborhood plagued by crime. St. Philip’s made a donation to the cause and helped promote the event, and the leadership of St. John’s was very grateful:...
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Preparations for this year’s Lessons and Carols service, which falls annually on the Third Sunday in Advent, began months ago when Pat Gould, the St. Philip’s Choir director; Jo Hethcox, director of the Cherub, St. Nicholas, Canterbury, and St. David Choirs; and Andrea White, the St. Cecilia Choir director, began choosing the anthems their choristers would be singing t...
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Just before noon on Friday, December 6, the Parish Hall was abuzz with women of St. Philip’s, their guests, and other ladies from across our diocese, all of whom had come to enjoy an elegant luncheon while listening to renowned speaker Susan Alexander Yates deliver her Advent message: “Finding Peace in a Season of Uncertainty.”...
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On Saturday, December 7, Church St. was a parade of festively dressed folks as St. Philippians made their way to the rectory for this year’s Advent drop-in. All the elements that we have come to expect from the past couple of years were in place: plenty of egg nog; live garland on the mantles and banisters; baked brie, meatballs, pimento cheese, and lots of other goodies...
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The Saturday before Thanksgiving, several St. Philippian youths met up with youth minister David Gilbert and youth leader Sarah Silcox to go door-to-door downtown to collect canned goods for Tricounty Family Ministries ahead of one of its busiest weeks of the year. The kids divided themselves into small groups and headed off in all directions to begin their mission to t...
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The St. Philip’s Home Missions Committee is once again partnering with Tricounty Family Ministries to help brighten Christmas for Charleston families by collecting $25 gift cards to Walmart, Family Dollar, Big Lots, and Dollar Tree so that parents in need can have the dignity of purchasing a gift for their child. The Committee is also working with St. John’s Chapel, a ...
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If you didn’t make it to this year’s parish retreat in the mountains of North Carolina, then you didn’t get to witness the joys of that weekend, among them the laughter at Friday’s social and sing-along, the hum of conversation as the bonds of our church family strengthened over each meal, and whatever happened at the hoedown that made the Millers and O’Dells rea...
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September 15 was a joyous day at St. Philip’s: the anthems were glorious, the sermon was rousing, the bouncy house was hopping, and the BBQ was delicious and plentiful. Rally Sunday is a day that St. Philippians look forward to every year because it marks the return of Sunday School and the Rector’s Forum after what always seems like an endless summer. But Rally Sunday...
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Because of the mandatory evacuation order and the possibility that many of our families might not be back in time for the originally scheduled Rally Sunday, we haved moved Rally Sunday to September 15....
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During the 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday, the Rev. Andrew O’Dell invited all students and teachers to come forward for a blessing before the start of the new school year....
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Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University is the class that helps you pay off debt, budget, save money, and give generously. Sit down with Tripp Hathaway and the Rev. Ryan Streett in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd and learn about debt snowballs, emergency funds, wealth-building, and more....
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The Canterbury Choir departs for the International Children's Choir Festival in Canterbury and London on Saturday, July 20! Please pray that their travels there are trouble-free and that the words of the anthems they sing might reach the hearts of those listening and spread the Gospel of our Lord. ...
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On Wednesday, July 3, the Rev. Ryan Streett and seven members of his College Fellowship group each bowled perfect 300s at Ashley Lanes in West Ashley! ...
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St. Philip's joined the world of Instagram on July 2follow us today! https://www.instagram.com/st.philips.church/ Our first post: "St. Philip's apologizes for the temporary ice cream shortage we inadvertently caused during the second pilgrimage to Greece." St. Philip's Ministry to Children and Families and St. Philip's Youth are also on Instagram! https://www.instagr...
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Against the Tide: Young Ladies' Bible Study A 4-week study on how to stand firm in your faith and be salt and light in your school. When: Four Tuesdays, July 9-July 30, at 5:00 p.m. Where: The Youth Room, St. Philip's Parish House Leader: Sarah Silcox Full description:Middle school and high school are tough enough. When you add your faith to this increasingly secular ...
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Sam and Carol Robinson, Miles Barkley, Emmie Hershey and her son Clay, and Gerry and Suzanne McCord were in La Gonâve, Haiti, June 19-24 for St. Philip’s annual Jean Baptiste Feast Day Mission. Read about their experience in the next inSPIRE! ...
Keep Reading If you know of a parishioner who is sick, hospitalized, homebound, or otherwise in need of pastoral care or prayer, please call the church office at (843) 722-7734. ...
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We thank God for the safe return of our first group of St. Philippian pilgrims, who journeyed in the footsteps of St. Paul May 28 through June 7. Our second group began the journey June 11 and will return June 21. Please pray for their safety as they travel and that they, too, would experience a deepening sense of God’s mission for the church....
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From June 10-July 26 (8:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.), St. John's Chapel, one of St. Philip's Home Missions partners, is hosting a summer camp that will help children ages 6-15 and their young adult counselors develop academic and social skills outside of a traditional classroom setting....
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In his Easter sermon, the Rev. Jeff Miller illustrated Jesus’ gift to us with a story he’d read by Harry Allen Ironside, former pastor of Moody Church in Chicago. In the story, a young man, the son of a friend of Czar Nicholas of Russia, had been given a post as paymaster in a border fortress. A gambling problem, though, soon led him to begin taking a few rubles here a...
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As early as Saturday, April 13, college students feeling the weight of upcoming final exams received some goodies in the mail to help them cope with stress and remind them that their St. Philip’s family is here at home rooting for them!...
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As Saturday, April 13, was approaching, experts in Augusta, GA, and Charleston, SC, anxiously consulted weather reports to figure out how their events might be impacted if the rain followed through on its threat to pour down. ...
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On April 7, 2019, the day of her confirmation, Elizabeth “Betsy” Bailey became the fifth Elizabeth to wear her now 99-year-old family cross....
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